


family tree

by hazelwho



Category: Harper's Island
Genre: Fannish Knitting, Gen, john wakefield - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-10-05
Updated: 2014-10-05
Packaged: 2018-02-20 00:43:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 410
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2408888
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hazelwho/pseuds/hazelwho
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A fannish knitting project undertaken as a complement to mizface's 2014 due South/c6d big bang project, Red Right Hand.</p>
            </blockquote>





	family tree

**Author's Note:**

  * For [mizface](https://archiveofourown.org/users/mizface/gifts).



> The project itself is suitable for all ages, but the discussion around the pictures will involve references to a serial killer who hung people from a tree. The text also contains plot spoilers for the TV miniseries Harper's Island, which is awesome and an excellent addition to your Halloween-y spooky movie/tv show watch list. =)
> 
> Thanks to Mizface, my braintwin and the best co-mod anyone could ask for, for yet another awesome year with the big bang, and also for once again inspiring me to take a chance and do something outside my comfort zone. She's always been so supportive when I try to use my math-brain to art.
> 
> And thanks to Spuffyduds for her awesome yarn beta. Not sure that's an official thing, but talking to her was incredibly helpful and she deserves credit for making this happen.

Mizface's art project this year is Red Right Hand, which is a powerful examination of some of the moments of death captured in Harper's Island. (See her post for further discussion.) It's beautiful and horrible and is a perfect piece for Harper's Island. I listened to the Nick Cave song she quotes on repeat and decided to make a panel that referenced the murders (especially Wakefield's original killings), but still looked innocent enough on the surface that you could get away with having it out in public. After many hours hunting for inspiration, mocking things up in excel, and kicking around ideas with the awesome Spuffyduds, here's what I made:

The tree was, of course, inspired by the Tree of Woe, the name given to the weeping willow where the original set of Wakefield victims were found strung up and hanged. 

The pattern for the tree is actually a traditional apple tree pattern commonly used on baby blankets. I adapted it from the pattern found [here](http://www.woolandbuttons.co.uk/userfiles/Apple%20Tree%20Blanket.pdf). I wish it had come out more willow-ish, but it's really dang hard to make yarn go up and over and down again like the branches of a weeping willow would.

The cables to either side of the tree are meant to represent the ropes used to display the victims.

The pattern is a mashup of things found in my knitter's stitch bible and [these](http://www.garnstudio.com/lang/us/pattern.php?id=4196&lang=us#pattern_content) kid's socks. I left the openings long and put the twists in the rope in the middle to better mimic a noose.

Overall, I'm happy with how this project came out, though with the pattern and the increases/decreases, it was pretty wadded up and roll-y when I finished it. It's still on the blocking board. I am hopeful that with enough time (and maybe a little starch), it will straighten itself out. The big disappointment for me is the error on the border row. I didn't see it until I was blocking and my heart stopped for a minute. I have never frogged anything completely as many times as I did this project, and it makes me nuts that after all of that, it still has such an obvious goof in it. There is zero chance of ever fixing it now, but I may get adventurous and try to embroider on what the garter is supposed to look like. In the meantime, I'm sticking with the whole _the mistakes are what let you know it's hand-made!_ cop out.


End file.
